What we know about Clinton, Orlando shooter's father

The Associated Press

In this Aug. 8, 2016, photo, Seddique Mateen, the father of Omar Mateen, the Orlando gay nightclub shooter, far left at bottom, take a photograph with his phone as Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, right, speaks at a rally at Osceola Heritage Park, in Kissimmee, Fla., Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

In this Aug. 8, 2016, photo, Seddique Mateen, the father of Omar Mateen, the Orlando gay nightclub shooter, far left at bottom, take a photograph with his phone as Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, right, speaks at a rally at Osceola Heritage Park, in Kissimmee, Fla., Monday, Aug. 8, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) (The Associated Press)

Seddique Mateen sat among the crowd wearing a red hat Tuesday as Clinton spoke to a large crowd in Kissimmee, Florida, just outside Orlando where the mass shooting happened. There she addressed some of her economic policies and also spoke about the families and victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting in which 49 people died.

On television, Mateen appeared in the same frame as Clinton spoke.

Father of Orlando shooter shows up at Clinton rally

Mateen said he found out about the event through an alert that apparently goes to anyone registered with the Democratic Party. Attendance to Clinton's rally in Kissimmee required attendees to provide only a first and last name, an email address, a phone number and a ZIP code, according to ABC News.

"I was invited by [the] Democratic party," Mateen told the reporter. "I'm a member, so as a member I get the invitations. Nothing particular about it."

Seddique Mateen: "I wish my son joined the Army and fought ISIS"

Clinton's campaign denied that it sent a personal invitation to Mateen, and by Wednesday it had completely distanced itself from the man who seemed to be supportive of Clinton.

"The rally was a 3,000-person, open-door event for the public. This individual wasn't invited as a guest and the campaign was unaware of his attendance until after the event," the campaign said in a statement.

By late Tuesday, Nick Merrill, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign emailed reporters saying, "She disagrees with his views and disavows his support."

Seddique Mateen has reportedly cooperated with authorities investigating the June 12 shooting and has also expressed regret for his son's actions. But Mateen's views on gays and Islamic religion's teaching about homosexuality have also been a source of controversy.

In an interview with CNN's Don Lemon, Mateen said that the "general rule of thumb is that God created man for woman, woman for man."

Disavowing and rebuking support from controversial figures is nothing new in this election cycle. Donald Trump has previously backed off from accepting the support of ex-Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. And now Clinton backs away from Mateen.

Within the last 24 hours, conversations have taken flight on whether Trump would have received harsher criticism or whether Mateen senior should be disavowed entirely.

Mateen and Clinton

Donald Trump reacted to the story in an interview with Fox host Sean Hannity